Cardinal Principles The Cardinal Principles upon which the Alliance was founded are

Purpose

Cardinal Principles

The Cardinal Principles upon which the Alliance was founded are

to fully enjoy and defend the rights and privileges of American citizenship,
to support and obey the laws and constitution of the United States,
to cultivate the mind through exchange of knowledge,
to effect a higher character among the members,
to observe and practice the fundamentals of brotherly love and mutual help.

No members are permitted to use provincial, clannish, Tong or political pressure against one another." Every local chapter has dedicated itself to civic pride, community service, and good citizenship''.

Fighting For Civil Rights

Throughout its history, the Alliance has vigorously fought against every attempt in this country to disfranchise citizens of Chinese ancestry, whether by segregating Chinese children in the public schools, or by applying regulations discriminatorily against Chinese businesses. Many community projects, such as the San Francisco Chinatown Playground and a Chinatown police substation, have been due to the efforts and influence of Alliance members. Efforts in San Francisco Chinatown have been particularly strong . and have included the following: the Mei Lun Yuen Housing project, the Chinese Recreational Center, the Ping Yuen Housing project, the Gateway to Chinatown project at Grant Avenue and Bush Street, the Chinese Hospital, the North East Medical Services, and the Chinatown branch of the Employment Service. Working with parents to fight the forced busing of Chinese American children in San Francisco, the Chinese American Citizens Alliance was able to get the school district to finally address their concerns and work more closely with the Chinatown community.

The Alliance has been instrumental in getting many unfair laws changed. It spearheaded the fight against the inhumane separation of American citizens from their wives brought on by the immigration Act of 1924. The Chinese American Citizens Alliance successfully campaigned in 1936 for partial alleviation of this hardship. Walter U. Lum, Kenneth Y. Fung, and Peter Wong of San Francisco Lodge, George Pong of Detroit Lodge, Peter Soo-Hoo and Y. C. Hong of Los Angeles Lodge, W. L. Sun of Portland Lodge, and many other officers repeatedly appeared before immigration Committees during various sessions of Congress to plead their cause. On August 9, 1946, the matter was successfully concluded with the passage of a law granting nonquota status to Chinese wives of American citizens.

A provision of the Judd Bill, H.R. 199, attempted to eliminate this nonquota status for Chinese wives, but through the efforts of the officers of the Alliance, the unfair provisions were deleted from the final version passed by the House on March 1, 1949. The introduction of the Kilgore-Langer Bill, S. B.1860, on May 13, 1949, represented the continuing efforts on the part of the Alliance to safeguard the rights and privileges of American citizens. During the 81st Congress, Albert Chow and William Jack Chow, commissioned by the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association to work on immigration legislation with Grand President Henry Lem and Y. C. Hong, appeared before the Senate Subcommittee on the Judiciary. On October 15, 1952, Alliance members appeared before President Harry Truman's Commission on Immigration and Naturalization to protest the unfair provisions of the Walter-McCarran Act and the arbitrary enforcement of that law by the American Consular officials in Hong Kong.

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